N.Y. again tops list of states with heaviest income tax burden

Residents of New York State passed 12.6 percent of their income to state and local governments in 2011, again the highest among the 50 states, data released Wednesday by the Tax Foundation shows.

New York was first in 2010 at 13.1 percent and in 2009 at 12.7 percent, the data shows.

New Jersey ranked second in 2011 state and local tax burden at 12.3 percent. Connecticut was third at 11.9 percent.

Wyoming had the lowest tax burden at 6.9 percent. Alaska was second at 7.0 percent and South Dakota was third at 7.1 percent.

Americans used 9.8 percent of their collective income to pay taxes in 2011, the data shows.

“States have different tax burdens, just as they have different levels of services,” Tax Foundation economist Elizabeth Malm said, in a statement. “For Americans to make informed judgments about benefits and costs of state-local government, the costs need to be known.”

New Yorkers paid $5,258 per capita to the state in 2011, the data shows. New York’s per capita state and local tax burden was $6,622. Its per capita income of $52,417 ranked fifth among the states.